International voltages on Parasound

[Linmuse]

Am looking at purchasing some second hand Parasound gear over the net in the US and wondering if the 110v US units are suitable on 240v in Australia.

I know some brands come with a duel voltage selector but others require modifications to the power supply.

Feedback on whats required with Parasound would be apprieciated.

Also is Audiogon a reliable site to buy from or are there better sites to search.

Thanks

[Peter Nielsen]

When it comes to the Halo amplifiers, they need to be modified internally by moving wires, jumpers, and replacing a fuse. Ideally you should by from someone that can modify AND test the unit with 240V prior to shipping...

[Chris D]

Peter is right. It depends on which Parasound product(s) you're looking at. Even in the Halo line, some items need to have internal modifications and/or swap out power supplies. Others are actually built dual-voltage from the start, with a guarded selectable switch on the back panel.

Given the nature of the work, and Parasound's really great customer service, I would have any needed work done at Parasound themselves, and then have them ship it to you. I think other club members here have had that done. (search for older threads on voltage changes)

As for your last question, yes, Audiogon is generally reliable. I haven't purchased through Audiogon myself, but have heard other users say they're not as thrilled with Audiogon as they used to be.

[Peter Nielsen]

Given the nature of the work, and Parasound's really great customer service, I would have any needed work done at Parasound themselves, and then have them ship it to you.

Chris, this requires a US middle-man. Parasound is not going to help international customers. They will simply refer to their dealers in the county of question... I can help with the conversion work and Audiogon transaction. PM me if needed. (Please note that I'm not doing it for free).

[Chris D]

Huh, interesting. Now, are you referring to dealers, or specifically service centers? I know there are designated service centers that are appointed to do service work on Parasound equipment. Perhaps they could do the work as well. (and no, NOBODY is going to do that sort of work for free!)

[Peter Nielsen]

Huh, interesting. Now, are you referring to dealers, or specifically service centers? I know there are designated service centers that are appointed to do service work on Parasound equipment. Perhaps they could do the work as well. (and no, NOBODY is going to do that sort of work for free!)

What I'm saying is that it will probably be difficult to find a service center here in the US that is willing to handle the export... They usually only deal with service within the US...

In any case beware not to run into the same issue as another forum member from Norway that received a JC1 that literally exploded when he plugged it in because the US seller forgot to convert it to 230V. As I recall, the JC1 was not repairable after this incident and now serves as an expensive paper weight...

[Linmuse]

Cheers gentlemen I will use this feedback to help make a decision on which direction to go.

I would much rather buy gear from a local shop to support local bussiness and warranty reasons but with taxes the price blows out to at least double the U.S. price and being the person I am i'm not going to be happy with cheaper inferior gear.

I have to admit to being a little tentative about spending largish amounts of doe online so your advice and offer of assistance (Peter) is valuable to me.

I see there are several pieces of gear on Audiogon at the moment that I may be interested in. Halo JC2 BP, A51 and a pr of JC1s. I will contact these sellers and ask some relevant qustions.

Once again thankyou all and Peter I will PM you to work something out if I go ahead.

[Chris D]

I would recommend going on Parasound's website and look at the photos and specs of the models you may be interested in. For example, the JC2 BP you talk about is manufactured as dual-voltage, with one of the guarded selector switches on the back that I talked about. No hardware mods would be required. That particular one on Audiogon looks to be a pretty good deal. (and of course, it's a FANTASTIC model)